Accreditation

Accreditation is a process in which certification of competency, authority, or credibility is presented.

Organizations that issue credentials or certify third parties against official standards are themselves formally accredited by accreditation bodies (such as UKAS); hence they are sometimes known as "accredited certification bodies".[2] The accreditation process ensures that their certification practices are acceptable, typically meaning that they are competent to test and certify third parties, behave ethically and employ suitable quality assurance.

One example of accreditation is the accreditation of testing laboratories and certification specialists that are permitted to issue official certificates of compliance with established technical standards, such as physical, chemical, forensic, quality, and security standards.[3].

Accreditation bodies in these fields usually operate according to ISO/IEC 17011.[4] Accredited entities in specific sectors must provide evidence to the accreditation body that they conform to other standards in the same series:

Contents

Fields that involve accreditation

Accreditation processes are used in a wide variety of fields:

See also

References

  1. ^ Systems Engineering Fundamentals. Defense Acquisition University Press, 2001
  2. ^ USDA ISO Guide 65 Program Accreditation for Certification Bodies, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, August 9, 2007
  3. ^ Accreditation of Certification Bodies, Forest Stewardship Council website (accessed January 25, 2008)
  4. ^ BS EN ISO/IEC 17011: "Conformity assessment. General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies" (2004).

External links